Best Fish Tacos in Ensenada...and LA (so far)

1650 Hillhurst Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Tue-Sun 11AM-8PM
(No phone number that I know of)
CASH ONLY

A while ago some one asked me what was my favorite fish taco was in LA. I really hadn't found one that I thought was worthy of mention until now. The Best Fish Tacos in Ensenada is a little shop on Hillhurst that has won me over in a big way. I'll keep it brief as there's not really much to expound on.

You hop in and order up what you want. The menu has 3 items. Fish tacos for $1.50, shrimp tacos for $2 and drinks for $1. Keeps things simple. They fry them up and you pay after you're done with your meal. Another thing is that it's BYOB (no corkage fee) for you people who love the combination of cerveza with your fish tacos this your place. When they've fried them up you get them bare with only a tortilla accompanying it. You then take them over to their dressing bar which has the cabbage, crema, and assorted salsas to fix them up. I love the spicy pineapple one!

The shrimp tacos are solid with the batter being super light and not soggy at all.

The fish tacos have a good amount of flavor, which can often NOT be the case when it comes to the white fish they use in so many fish tacos.

I can't find anything wrong with their tacos. The price is like seduction to your wallet...you always feel like it's cheap enough to grab another. They have indoor and outdoor seating and the place is super chill. I absolutely hate that they're not closer to me, but then again, I'd be a whole lot fatter if they were!

Free Refills: No but it's super cheap ($1 a can) so at least you don't feel robbed. Oh and they have Welch's grape soda which also scores a point.
Price: Cheap: Super duper cheap ($1.50-$2.00/taco)

Green Leaves...vegan love for the meat minded

1769 Hillhurst Ave.
Los Angeles, CA. 90027
(323)664-2345
Open Daily 11AM–Midnight

***Lindsey C. of Reality LA this is so you!***

Our next worthwhile foray into the world of veganism is Green Leaves and what can I say? I'm of the mindset that meat out of sight is out of mind. If any of you have been reading my posts you know that I'm not such a vegan, in fact I love meat to the point of almost wishing I had my own livestock to eat if I could.

Located right across the street from Home in the Los Feliz area this cozy spot has been winning vegan hearts on the East Side for a little while now. The interior has a sort of calm rock and roll meets corner cafe appeal to it (which ironically is also the crowd I think they're aiming for) .

Despite what you may be thinking this is a coconut, not an amateur rocket. And, it was cracked open just for us. If you haven't ventured to try the natural libation of coconut, this is the place to do it. No cracking it at home over your sink with your biggest/heaviest knife, risking life, limb and loss of juice. Here you can enjoy it's lightly sweet nectar and meat for $2.75 and get enough to share between two or three people.

Their Spring Rolls were solid veggie spring rolls, with an emphasis on glass noodles and tofu. What made them stand out was the unusual sauce they served along side, which was like the standard sweet chili oil sauce but theirs had a little something of a special aromatic that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Needless to say the sauce itself added an even fresher taste on this already fresh appetizer.

They describe this their Rock and Roll Noodle as "Pan fried wide rice noodles with tofu, chili sauce, basil, tomato, bell peppers, bean sprouts & our special house jalapeno sauce". I describe it as quite possibly my favorite vegan plate to date. It satisfies my basic needs for something flavorful, healthy, textures and plate size.

Almost looks like a hamburger with mushrooms doesn't it? Well, it's their mushroom burger with lentil loaf for the patty and it made quite a tasty burger. The lentil loaf itself was very tastefully spiced lentils, so if you like lentils you'll love it. The mushrooms were well sauteed and tender, the lettuce, tomato and sprouts fresh and crisp, and served on a super fresh (almost sweet) wheat bun. Make sure you try the sauces they bring out if you get this too, they add great flavors. One word of warning, the lentil loaf might fall apart on you. Celeste found though that if she removed the bottom bun and turned it upside-down that it stayed together just fine. Hey, what matters is that it tastes good and it's healthy, right?

All in all, the restaurant has great returnability factor. Healthy, tasty, good service and some awesome late night hours. Street parking can sometimes be tricky but there's plenty of it so you're cool. So next time you or your significant is feeling healthy or tired or not feeling healthy please pop on in as you'll be highly impresses with their sizable menu of familiar yet alternative eating!

PS. Pop on in for breakfast for some extraordinary pancakes!

Free Refills: Sorry to say but I always forget to check cause I never order soft drinks when I'm there...something about being healthy in there.
Entree Ranges: Appetizers are $3 to $6, soups and salads $3 to $7, breakfast is $4 to $8 and main entrees are $4 to $9. Can you say VERY good deal?

(There's No Place Like) Home...or so they say

1760 Hillhurst Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323)669-0211
7 days a week 9AM-till they feel like it

There's a lot to be said about a place that calls itself home. Some say it's where you hang your hat, while some say it's a place you can never return to and even some, like Bon Jovi, wonder "Who says you can't go home?" There's a wonderland spot in Los Feliz known (in full) as There's No Place Like Home that is a step outside of all that LA seems to be. Inside I'm reminded of the Ivy minus all the people pretending to be something they're not. They're set up with an open patio area that is very reminiscent of an Italian outdoor banquet (minus the heat lamps haha).

Though they serve breakfast, lunch and dinner I can only talk about breakfast. Something in me only wants to go there for breakfast. I think it's the atmosphere or something, but any other time of day just doesn't seem right to me. That being said their breakfast is something special.

What we have below are two lovely examples of their craftsmanship. The first is their Banana and Walnut Stuffed French Toast drizzled with sweet cream on top. It sounds and looks decadent. It tastes glorious! The egg bread they use is the perfect canvas for the creation. When you first look you think... man is this going to be too rich for me... but they did something that really balanced it out. One word. Strawberries. The strawberries really tie the entire thing together without tiring out your palate. The sweet cream is also a nice touch making each bite ever so moist. The entire thing is not so over the top as you'd imagine by looking at it. You can tell as soon as you taste this that they put some serious thought in to it.

This my friends is their breakfast burrito. A seasoned flour tortilla, thin but strong enough to hold everything together, wraps its way around black beans, apple-smoked bacon, melted cheese and the perfect amount of eggs to tie it all together. My advice... get it, eat it, love it.

Oddly enough they have a special that is sort of an enigma. Their rainy day special is as follows: "Buy one entrée and get the next one of equal or lesser value 50% off. Breakfast and lunch items only, and it must be a rainy day in L.A., not misty, not potentially going to rain, actually raining on top of us. May not be combined with any other offer." So from how I understand it in my simple mind is that you can get the deal if you don't mind getting rained on. One extra special is that they have a coupon in the Entertainment book to give you the slick discount. Well worth it indeed.

There is no place like home. And while I get a little bit nostalgic about how my home was for me when I was growing up in the projects with a mom who cared enough to do everything in her humanly powers to raise me with convictions, good morals and phenomenal food. This is a wonderful way to fill that empty spot in my heart.


Free Drink Refills: Yes
Entree Price Range: Breakfast $3 to $12, Lunch $8 to $11 and Dinner $13 to $20

Fred 62

1850 N. Vermont Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323)667-0062
Always open

Fred 62 is a 50's style diner on a corner on Vermont in Los Feliz that has miles of persona to it. Oddly enough it feels likes what would appear in the future era in a Back to the Future movie when they go to a vintage diner in the future. Lots of charm. This is definitely one of those people watching spots with lots of stars showing up randomly, as well as just a bevvy of trendy people.

The food at Fred 62 is dare I say all around good. You can go there anytime of day and grab a great meal. Some may argue that they try to hard to be something. I heartily disagree with them. They seem to just "be". No overworking to be something. They give you great food and service is usually good even when they're packed. A big hi-five as well for the awesome coffee and amazing shakes.



I remember seeing Gourmet magazine say that they have some of the best pancakes in LA. So being that I'm not that huge a fan of pancakes I had to try them out. I was so not let down. Wow, so perfect in texture and flavor. A must have when you go if you're in the mood for breakfast.

The pancakes...so sinfully good. (Silver dollars do not come with the plate but were placed there by me for posterity.)

And here's there Super Rico Sandwich which by their own admission is a "better-battered tuna patty that consists of tuna salad stuffed with passilla chile, onion, jack and cheddar cheese with ice-berg lettuce, tomatoes, and mayo on a freshly toasted bun". An amazing take on a tuna melt type of sandwich. Incredibly tasty and the fries were perfect in texture and flavor. Two thumbs up as an afterschool special.

And here's there Wimpy burger which is a solidly good burger. Very flavorful (meaty tasting) and juicy but not bloody. I would say one of my top 5 restaurant burgers easily. It's interesting cause in essence it doesn't look like anything extraordinary but inside lies all the goodness one could desire from a burger. Downright tasty.

As promised there's a roundup for the Arcade Fire show last night at Rockinsider that I wrote. Show some love if you like what you read. The show was passionate and beautiful to sum it up in short words.

Free Drink Refills: Yes
Entree Price Range: $7 to $11

Electric Lotus (brain still fuzzy)

4656 Franklin Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323)953-0040
Sun-Thurs 12PM-12AM
Fri-Sat 12PM-1AM

I'm finally recovering from last weekend at Coachella. Had a chance to pop into Electric Lotus with a buddy and forgot that with just the two of us I need to order accordingly. Many leftovers were had.

When you walk in here you're in a dark den that kind of reminds me of a Moroccan movie spy hangout. We pop a seat and order up. This shot was with my flash on...gives you an idea of the darkness in there.

We got the Lamb Biryani and the Lamb Coco Curry and to drink a Taj Mahal Beer and a Yeti beer. We also grab the garlic naan which is kind of addicting. We talked about life and issues facing us and the world today. The food shows up and my eyes are reminded that when you come here you order for everyone cause the portions are massive. We laugh then proceed to stuff ourselves. The lamb in both plates was super tender and the rice in mine was flavorful as well as balanced while the curry was not too heavy, but was flavored oh so delicately with the coconut. Good eatins. I had enough leftovers with my lamb biryani to share two plates with my wife later on! The price is balanced to how much you get about hence why you should order according to who you're with so that you can share plates. I'd say 3 plates of food is good for 5 people about.


It's a rock and roll hideout that serves up good Indian food. Kind of like Toi's is for Thai food on Sunset. My brain still hasn't fully recovered. Such an amazing time was had. I'm exhausted and have a headache. Have a wonderful weekend and if you are so inclined next week come to the Mint on Thursday at 8 PM if you care to meet me and have some tasty burgers. I'll share with you if you'd like. I'll be the one onstage with the upright...

Free Drink Refills: Yes (word of caution while the beer is a good size it's $6 to$8 a bottle...but man does it go nicely with the meal)
Entree Price Range: $9 to $17 (remember you get a lot and that the steeper end of that range is mostly seafood)